Prevention & Intervention Studies Specialization (Education Ph.D.)

About

NOTE: We are not currently accepting applications for this program. 

We are still accepting applications for the Ph.D. concentrations in Special Education and Higher Education, as well as the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership.


We apologize for the inconvenience.


The goal of the Prevention and Intervention Studies specialization within our Education Ph.D. program is to increase positive academic and socio-behavioral outcomes for PreK-12 students and their families by focusing on evidence-based strategies to improve resilience and the overall health and wellbeing of children both in schools and related settings. Doctoral students in this program study and conduct research on risk and protective influences on development, as well as interventions to promote academic achievement and positive social behaviors in school. The program is designed for mid-career professionals, including special educators, classroom teachers, curriculum coordinators, administrators and counselors who are committed to the goal of improving outcomes for students who are at-risk for academic or social-behavioral difficulties. Study in this area may be of particular interest to individuals involved with design, implementation or evaluation of response to intervention in school or early childhood settings.

Program Delivery

All of our Ph.D. specializations require a minimum of 57 graduate credits beyond a master’s degree. Students will develop an initial program of study with a faculty advisor. Before enrolling in their fifth course, students must form a program committee consisting of three or more faculty members to finalize their program of study. The curriculum includes of a minimum of 15 required foundation course credits, 15 required research core credits, 12 required program core credits and three elective credits combined with comprehensive exams, a research practicum and a dissertation:

  • Educational Foundations (minimum 12 credit hours): All students are required to enroll in a professional seminar course at the beginning of doctoral studies. After that, students may choose three additional courses from a menu of options focusing on the philosophical, psychological and social aspects of education.
  • Research Foundations (minimum 15 credit hours): Includes a minimum of six credits in quantitative methods and six credits in qualitative methods. In addition, students must take at least one additional research course related to their professional or academic interests.
  • Prevention and Intervention Studies Core (minimum 15 credit hours): A series of courses specifically tailored to students in the Prevention and Intervention Studies Area of Specialization.
  • Research Practicum (minimum 6 credit hours): In the fourth year of the program, each student in consultation with their advisor and program committee, will do a two semester research practicum specific to their Area of Specialization. This allows students to develop a literature review and implement field study in that area.
  • Dissertation (minimum of nine credits)

Advising & Support

The College of Education and Human Development provides students with academic guidance and personal support before they set foot on campus through graduation and beyond. Our graduate students work with faculty advisors, who build genuine relationships and provide timely information to help you navigate your program, your work in schools and communities, and whatever else is on your plate.

Program Learning Outcomes

The University of Maine Graduate School prepares engaged scholars and professionals to make meaningful contributions to their communities of practice: research consortia, clinical practices, studios, workplaces, classrooms, and political collectives. As graduate students are key agents in helping to sustain an environment supportive of learning through teaching, collaborative inquiry, mentoring or demonstration, they are critical ambassadors for public higher education during their coursework and after graduation. During and after graduate training, accordingly, the Graduate School’s doctoral, masters, and professional-certifications degree programs will enable students to:

  • Contributing research, scholarship, creative work, and informed practice to our developing understanding of the social and material world
  • Staying abreast of methodological, pedagogical, and professional advances
  • Consuming research for continuing professional knowledge and practice
  • Committing to professional development through engagement in professional societies and other knowledge-transfer modes
  • Accurately distilling and disseminating complex expertise to help solve problems
  • Responsibly integrating developing research consensus into professional best-practices
  • Working collaboratively across domains to develop new insights and effective practices
  • Responding with principled recommendations to emerging concerns that confront their communities of practice
  • Respectfully observing (and where necessary, helping to shape) the communicative conventions of the community of practice
  • Attending to sustainability, responsiveness, and potential long-term implications when engaging local-global context and communities
  • Learning from and working respectfully with diverse cultural perspectives, knowledge-systems, and priorities
  • Giving and acting on productive feedback
  • Complying with best-practices in methodology and pedagogy and in making informed recommendations to employers, coworkers and the broader public
  • Maintaining a critical awareness of structural inequities in their communities of practice and working to redress them
  • Assuring that context–and discipline-informed modes of inquiry are safe

Careers

Graduates of the Education Ph.D. program who specialize in Prevention and Intervention Studies go on to work as school district and community agency administrators, school and community-based counselors and social workers, and fulfill faculty roles in higher education. In addition, our graduates are prepared to work for nonprofit and government agencies specializing in services for children and youth.

Children in a classroom smiling at the camera

At a Glance

College of Education & Human Development


Degree Level

Doctoral

Degree Earned

Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Mode of Study

In-Person

time to Complete Degree

57 Credits

College of Education & Human Development


Degree Level

Doctoral

Degree Earned

Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Mode of Study

In-Person

time to Complete Degree

57 Credits

Contact

Education & Human Development

Shibles Hall

umaine.edu/edhd

P

207.581.2441

Admissions

Undergraduate

Estabrooke Hall, Room 115

go.umaine.edu

P

207.581.1561

F

207.581.1213

International

Chadbourne Hall, Room 122

go.umaine.edu/international-undergraduate-admissions/

P

207.581.3437

F

207.581.2920